If I wanted to let my chickens free range...

[LivingFate]

I have an acre of land, a chicken coop that was here when I bought the house but want organic eggs. If I wanted to do things free range/organic how do I prevent my chickens from getting into neigbors yards? Can I clip there wings to prevent flying like parrots and such? What kind of fencing would I need to put up at minimal?

 

[NS2A]

You'd need at least a 4' woven wire fence for most breeds. Higher for bantams. Figure at LEAST $1/foot.

You know you can't have ANY treated lumber and use organic bedding to be organic right?

 

[morelcabin]

How far away are your neighbors?

 

[LivingFate]

I have 4 silkies but just for pets and 4 cochins for now. I have ordered books and have been researching and reading like crazy. Easier than kids- at least chickens come with some kind of "instruction booklet"

So no pressure treated lumber- anything else I need to avoid? Oh my chicks are two weeks old. So I have some time...

 

[LivingFate]

Quote:
One is about two acres away, one probally about 1/2 acre- Nothing but woods infront and a freight train line in back that runs like once a week if that.

 

[OHChick]

i have 4 board horse fence that already was here, and ran a strand of electric along the bottom to keep dogs/etc out. my chickens either don't know, or don't care that they could hop over, they stick around our place. on gates, i did put chain link up, b/c the chickens were going thru that and i didn't want them out on the road.

good luck to you. my first few weeks of free ranging, i was a nervous wreck!

 

[Acre of Blessings]

There is one thing that you cannot avoid and that is all the red tape you will go through just to use the word "Oraganic". So get ready for it. If I were you I would use the words "All Natural" or just "Natural". I would stay away from "Organic" all together.

Edited dur to poor spelling. LOL

 

[Half-a-dozen]

My girls can get over the fencing but they dont seem to care about it. As long as I put something in the way... pile of wood, a board etc... they dont bother to try to get into the neighbors yard. They are just happy to be out I think...

 

[SeaChick]

If your eggs are for your own consumption, and you simply want to eat as organically as possible, don't worry too much about things. If you're seling them as organic, you need to research it and make sure you do everything right. Only 100% organic feed from day one is just the tip of the iceberg.

Fence-wise, I think it really varies on the breed, and even individual chicken. My girls respect even really low fences, like 2 or 3 feet, because they have plenty to keep them busy in the yard. But I do supervise them. I'm sure that at some point, if they were out dawn-dusk, one of them would get out.

Is your concern that they'd ingest something non-organic on the neighbor's property, or that they'd bother the neighbors? I'm a little confused about the 2 questions...

Breed-wise, the heavier and more domesticated breeds (ie barred rocks, buff orps, cochins?) are probably less likely to go roaming than the "wilder" breeds. Look up the breeds and the ones that say they don't stand confinement as well and are best on free range, those are the ones I'd think would probably range a lot further. My heritage breed girls tend to be homebodies!

 

[LivingFate]

The kids eat only organic preservative free etc products. These are for us to consume only and maybe for relatives but not to be sold. The kids need to be on a very strict chemical free diet so thats way I need to go as organic free range as possible.